The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it is seeing increased demand for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes, as energy disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict have created new commercial opportunities for the country.
Speaking during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Olalekan Ogunleye, NNPC executive vice-president, said buyers are increasingly looking to Nigeria because of its proximity to key consuming nations and the scale of its gas reserves.
“We are right in the middle of the market. We are 10 sailing days from Europe, close to the Atlantic Basin and close to Asia,” Ogunleye said.
“We see commercial opportunities on top of the fact that we have the most gas reserves in Africa.”
Ogunleye said demand for natural gas has proven resilient, adding that the current geopolitical tensions would not derail its growth.
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He said NNPC has started talks on adding two new LNG trains and is also pursuing a 12 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) LNG project alongside gas‑based industrial hubs to tap more than 200 trillion cubic feet of reserves in Nigeria.
Nigeria LNG (NLNG), in which NNPC is the largest shareholder, can export up to 22 million metric tons per year and is building a seventh production train scheduled for completion in 2027.
On March 19, Saad al-Kaabi, chief executive officer (CEO) of QatarEnergy, said the company will have to declare force majeure on long-term contracts of up to five years for LNG supplies bound for Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China.
The Cable
